Establishing a Black-footed Albatross Colony on Oʻahu

Conservationists are trying to establish a Black-footed albatross colony on Oahu’s North Shore.

Chicks on the move

Credit Lindsay Young / Pacific Rim Conservation

Last month, Pacific Rim Conservation in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Papahānaumokuākea National Monument transported 15 chicks to the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge.

The chicks were taken from Midway Atoll and were most likely not going to survive.

The thought is that by transporting the chicks at this stage they will call Oʻahu home.

Eric VanderWerf is with Pacific Rim Conservation.

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VanderWerf says it will take years to find out if the organization’s experiment is successful.

Black-footed albatrosses are not an endangered species, but due to sea level rise they are most at risk of losing nesting grounds. The albatrosses nest on the beaches of low-lying atolls in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, making them vulnerable to waves and tides.

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